


Of His Own Making

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Abuser's POV, Death Threats, Fallen Nobility, Gen, Hubert being creepy, Hubert is a good husband, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Laser-Guided Karma, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:27:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25173859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Count Varley thought he was above regret.
Relationships: Bernadetta von Varley/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 10
Kudos: 66
Collections: FE3H Kink Meme





	Of His Own Making

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt** : Where Count von Varley is stuck in the hell that his daughter has somehow done worse than marry a commoner. She married Hubert. Who, in Count von Varley’s mind, is an unholy abomination of an Imperial Tax Auditor, an officially sanctioned assassin, and a high level estate inspector. In other words, a landed nobleman’s worst nightmare wrapped up in impeccably tailored black clothes.
> 
> Hubert for his part, supports his wife by fully living up to her father’s expectations of him.

Count Richard von Varley had never seen the need for regrets or contrition. Everything he did was for both his house's standing and for his daughter's own good. Crested children were _meant_ to be molded into the ideal spouses, married off to just the right person to bring further financial and social status to their name.

Was it truly so wrong of him to expect his only daughter to behave herself, and to correct her when she disobeyed? Was it such a crime to forbid her from having friends, because the influence of others might lead her to talk back to him or question his methods? (Especially _filthy_ commoners like that boy from the garden.) To monitor her eating habits to ensure perfect table manners? To discourage silly, flighty activities such as singing aloud as though she were a bird?

That was how his father raised him, how his wife's parents had raised her, and they'd both turned out perfectly. It was simply the way of the world, and when a daughter failed to be grateful for the lessons a father tried to impart, it was his right to turn his back on her and remind her that she'd shamed all of House Varley.

Then Lady Edelgard had taken the throne, and suddenly the plush velveteen rug had been yanked out from under his feet. House arrest, with Vivan placed in charge of _his_ duties. His noble status technically intact, but it may as well have been revoked for the way servants and visitors turned a blind eye to his presence. Laws passed without his consent, people singing the praises of Emperor Edelgard.

A single letter from Bernadetta announcing that she would _not_ be coming home. And then, when the war was over, the announcement of her marriage to _worse_ than a commoner.

House Vestra had always unsettled most of the Adrestian nobles. They held no domain over any one part of the Empire and lacked a Crested bloodline, content simply to operate in the shadows as they carried out unsavory tasks. For every Hresvelg was a Vestra completely devoted to them, the late Marquis the only one to break this rule, and his son the one to kill him for it.

Hubert von Vestra had a body count big enough to fill an encyclopedia. He sniffed his way around the Empire, looking for anything that _might_ offend Emperor Edegard or pose an inconvenience to her, then promptly destroying it. A decrepit old manor of a fallen name, a potential protest of any of her new policies, and the people who owned those manors or planned those protests. He kept spies in any of the houses that had participated in the Insurrection, even those whose heirs he knew were loyal to Emperor Edelgard.

Hubert von Vestra was a serpent slithered from the depths of Hell itself, and he'd not only married Richard's only daughter, but taken control of the territory. Of course Vivian had no objections, ever since Emperor Edelgard took the throne she'd been all too eager to please the woman. Whether it was genuine or out of fear, Richard did not know, but since his house arrest her word was law and House Varley had thrown their full support behind Emperor Edelgard.

"Richard." Richard shuddered, the sound of his name on that serpent's lips was needle scraping against bone, reverberating through his every nerve. Bernadetta was surveying the former Ochs land and Vivian in yet another meeting. The servants had been given the day off, as per Vivian's orders.

This happened much too often for Richard's taste, and he was powerless to do a damn thing about it.

"Marquis Vestra." He bowed stiffly, knowing all too well Hubert could sense the tremble in his voice. "I hope this day finds you well."

"Very well, thank you." Hubert smiled, his pale green eyes glinting dangerously in the dim room. "I've received word from my wife regarding the condition of Ochs territory. The land is more fertile than she expected, and her suggestion to grow orchards was unanimously approved," he said. "However, this means she will be there a few days more than she planned. Cultivating the soil and planting the seeds will take time."

Bernadetta had left two mornings ago. Richard remembered a time where she couldn't take two steps from her room without collapsing in a panic.

"So she intends to use perfectly good land for _fruit_ instead of industry?" he asked, his voice tight. Hubert frowned.

"Good sir, need I remind you that the former Hrym territory has already been chosen for that? All of the noble houses voted unanimously for it just last week," he said. "I suppose it's hard to remember such things when you're not present at these meetings, though, so I suppose you can't be blamed." Richard bristled, clenching his teeth.

"I apologize. I would have very much _liked_ to attend, but _Her Majesty_ has reduced me to a prisoner within my own home," he snapped. Hubert's frown became a near-feral smirk, a brief flash of white teeth bringing to mind a shark eyeing its prey, and Richard's chest tightened. "Of course, I understand-"

"Do you." Hubert's fingertips reached out, brushing his shoulder. "Somehow I doubt that, sir. You understand very little about anyone or anything. Have you _noticed_ the way House Varley has flourished within the past five years?" He stepped closer, giving another glimpse of his teeth. "Or more specifically, your daughter? She certainly didn't inherit _your_ intelligence and political talents." The brush of fingers became a clawlike grip, and Richard forgot that he'd just been insulted as he prayed he didn't drop dead of a heart attack right then and there.

"I understand that it can be difficult, having your authority so _deservingly_ ripped away from you," the serpent continued. "But consider this. Lady Edelgard is surprisingly merciful, simply removing you from power and making you, as you say, a prisoner in your own home." The man's eyes were staring daggers into him now. "You should be grateful that your status is _all_ she took from you. Anyone else might have done. Much. _Worse._ "

His smirk became a grin as he released Richard from his grip. The room spun, his heart thudded, his vision blurred, and for a brief agonizing moment he thought he saw the tortured faces of the previous emperor and the late Duke Aegir. He was almost relieved to see Hubert's face still looking into him.

"Are we clear, sir?" Richard nodded, groping in the abyss for his voice.

"Yes, m'lord."

"Good." Hubert smoothed his ridiculously tailored black coat. "I must be going. The Emperor and the Prime Minister wish to discuss the matter of educational reform with me," he said. "Have a pleasant day." He left, and Richard collapsed to his knees, overcome with fear and humiliation and worst of all, the one thing he'd sworn never to feel in his life.

Once, Richard von Varley had been in control of many things, but most of all his daughter. Now, he lived under the control of not only her but his wife, the Emperor, and the murderous snake his daughter had married.

_You should be grateful that your status is all she took from you._

There was no point in wishing for death instead of the hand he'd been dealt. The part of him he'd silenced all these years knew he deserved this so much more.


End file.
